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Whereas older generations may still view technology with some suspicion (or at least unfamiliarity), today's young moms and dads are just as comfortable with the latest gadgets as their children are. This comfort breeds confidence, according to Ipsos OTX MediaCT.

"Parents are now the final arbiter of what's appropriate for their children. They aren't paying attention to traditional guidelines and institutions, such as videogame or movie ratings," says Ipsos OTX MediaCT's Donna Sabino. Parents create their own "fuzzy boundaries," she says. "They appreciate that there are hard-and-fast rules, but that's just not how they make their decisions."

This means today's children are more likely to encounter media and other content that would have traditionally been off-limits to them. One in six parents of boys X-XX (XX%) allow their children to play videogames rated M, such as Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat, while XX% let them play T-rated games, such as Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft.

One in four parents (XX%) allow their children under age XX to see PG-XX movies on their own, and XX% take their children to see R-rated movies. Four in XX children under XX--XX% of those ages X-X--visit social networks that have a minimum age of XX. Furthermore, XX% of parents who allow their kids to join social networks say they are friends with their kids on the sites.

Another influencing factor in children being exposed to older content at a young age is the fact that many parents consume these products alongside their children. More than eight in XX parents (XX%) have played a videogame with their X-XX-year-old children within the past week, according to Ipsos. This may stem from parental preferences as well as parenting philosophy: dads may prefer to play the Call of Duty videogame with their sons rather than Kirby's Epic Yarn.